Rhythm of the Night
by Haylesley
Summary: Sakura has always had forbidden feelings for her cousin Gaara and has been under the impression that he's never really liked her. Turns out she was really really wrong.


"G-Gaara! Wait for me!" Sakura was running as fast as her little legs could carry her, she needed to catch up to her cousin. If she was left behind she had no hope in getting him to play with her.

"Gaara! Wait! Please?" she called out again, but it did nothing to slow the red-head down. If anything it only made him speed up. She watched him disappear over the hill and sighed dejectedly. She should have known better than to expect anything. After all it wasn't very cool to be playing with your baby cousin.

Sakura made her way over to a large oak tree and settled down by the trunk. She wished that she could grow up quicker then Gaara would definitely want to play with her. He was the person she looked up to the most and all she wanted was to be someone important to him.

Sakura smiled and began thinking of all the ways she could be useful to her cousin. One day he'd admire her just as much as she admired him. She'd make sure of it!

* * *

At Eighteen Sakura still had the same childish hopes that she had when she was seven. She still wished for world peace, a house made of gingerbread and she still wished for her cousin to notice she existed. That fact that he hadn't was actually a relief.

Sakura's feelings had blossomed over the years slowly turning admiration into infatuation. This in turn gradually became love. She knew it was pretty wrong of her to feel this way. They were related after all, but how could Sakura not love him? He was everything she could ever want. Tall, good-looking, smart. He was everything women dreamed of. She giggled a little, it was almost ironic. Here she was calling him a dream when that's all he could ever be to her.

Sakura leaned her head against the front door of her house. She knew she shouldn't torture herself like this but she needed to see him. The walk to her cousins house took less than a minute but mustering up the courage to ring the doorbell took a lot longer. After fighting with herself for a minute or two she finally did it.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. It's Gaara's very own stalker." Kankuro snickered at his own little joke after he had opened the door. Sakura however was completely unamused. She glared angrily at Kankuro and muttered "Yeah, well. At least I don't still play with my dolls."

His spluttering and rushed "They aren't dolls! There action figures!" made her smile. He was easier than her to rile up. And his reactions were much funnier too.

"Say whatever you like Kankuro. But remember, 'If it walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's best just to call it a duck.'" Kankuro just gave her a bizarre look and let her into the house. "Is it ok for me to stay for dinner? Mum and Dad still aren't back yet." Her parents had gone away on a cruise and weren't due back till next week, she liked the fact that it gave her an excuse to see her cousins everyday.

Kankuro smiled and ruffled her hair. "Sure kiddo. You know we love having you here." He wandered off into the living room whilst Sakura took off her shoes. When he came back he was holding out a can of Coke for her. "Just make yourself at home. I'll be in my workshop out back if you need anything."

"Kay." She smiled at Kankuro's back as he made his way outside. She looked at her watch, Temari would be back soon and Gaara after her. She moved over to a picture of the three siblings sat on a park bench. Out of all of them, Gaara looked like the only one who could have possibly of been related to her. It shouldn't really matter, she shouldn't feel like this anyway.

The sound of the door opening and shutting again pulled Sakura out of her thoughts. That would be Temari, she could use some girl talk right about now. "Temari, welcome home! I'm really glad you're back I need to talk to you about..." Sakura stopped dead in the doorway. It was Gaara. She could swear he got better looking every time she saw him. "Oh, hey Gaara. I thought you were Temari."

Gaara raised an eyebrow and huffed. "Yeah, I figured. She said she'd be working late today."

"I see." Sakura waited him to continue the conversation, but he just stood there. Staring at her. Man, this was beginning to feel awkward. "Err, so how was your birthday? You turned Twenty One right?"

"Yeah, it was okay." Gaara was definitely a man of few words. It made him seem even more attractive, he gave off this bad boy vibe that really got her blood pumping. She needed to stop this now. One day her poker face was going to slip and Gaara would find out everything. She couldn't let that happen.

"Alright well, I'll just hang out in the living room until Temari gets back." Sakura turned away from him sat down on the sofa. To Sakura's surprise Gaara sat down next to her. What the hell was going on? Gaara normally couldn't get far enough away from her and now he was sitting next to her. Willingly. She looked at Gaara with questioning eyes, she definitely needed answers for this.

Gaara looked straight back at her but she could sense hesitancy coming from him. Slowly he leaned forward, until his lips were centimetres away from hers. After staring into her eyes for a few seconds he closed the gap between them. Sakura was shocked but soon reacted and leaned into the kiss. Her hands reached up to his shoulders and she manoeuvred herself to face him.

He pulled away momentarily and looked at her. "You want this too?" Disbelief was written over his features and all Sakura could do was nod and pull him down once more. This kiss was more passionate than the last one. One hand slid up to his neck and she tangled her fingers in the hair at his nape.

He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips and she eagerly let him in, their tongues touched and shivers ran through her body. She pushed her body hard into his and lifted herself to sit on his lap. His hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her hips flush against his. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her.

Sakura pulled away to catch her breath and heard the front door open. Temari was home. Sakura looked at Gaara with panic and threw herself to other end of the sofa and just as she took her phone out of her pocket Temari walked into the room.

Sakura looked up from her phone and muttered a "Hey". She was desperately trying to act like she hadn't just been making out with her forbidden love interest. She spared a quick glance at Gaara and he did not look happy. If looks could kill Temari would be dead ten times over.

"What the hell is that look for? I haven't been working my arse off so you can act like a brat Gaara." Temari had clearly noticed the look that Gaara had been giving her. Thankfully it appeared that she didn't have a clue why. "What's up with you anyway?"

Gaara just glared at his sister even harder. He stayed like this for a minute or so before he decided to remove himself from the situation. "I'll cook dinner."

Sakura watched him go. She wondered where this left them now. It wasn't just a one time thing was it? She sure hoped not, that had been...exhilarating. She turned to Temari and hoped that her face hadn't been betraying her thoughts. "Tough day?"

"Not really. I just get sick of him being such a bitch. I swear it's like living with someone who's PMSing every single fucking day." Sakura couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. The image that Temari had conjured up was hilarious!

"Why don't you go have a shower and relax before dinner? I'll go tell Kankuro you're home and keep him company." Sakura smiled happily as Temari nodded and headed towards the stairs. Sakura felt lighter than air, nothing could bring down her mood.


End file.
